M. Night used to be one of my favorite working filmmakers. THE SIXTH SENSE, UNBREAKABLE and SIGNS are all modern masterpieces as far as I’m concerned. But I think he kind of got lost after that, always trying to top himself. THE VILLAGE, LADY IN THE WATER and THE HAPPENING all seemed too forced, like he was trying to out do his last film. I actually thought THE LAST AIRBENDER was cheesy fun (in the spirit of the old EWOK ADVENTURE movies), but far from perfect. I feel like he needs to stop trying to be like M. Night, because he “is” M. Night. He doesn’t need to try.

After watching the trailer for his latest, I’m convinced that this could very well be his comeback film. I love Will Smith’s narrative monologue about fear, and the images are quite breathtaking. I know that he’ll probably have a bunch of long takes in the finished product as well, which I’m a sucker for. I got goosebumps during this preview. Finally! I’m excited for an M. Night Shyamalan film again!